HIGHLIGHTS Spring Term 2014
THE TERMLY MAGAZINE OF BLACKHEATH HIGH SCHOOL GDST
PILLARS OF LEARNING
PILLARS OF LEARNING: The fundamental values for educating the whole person At BHS we deliver an education that provides opportunities to develop skills, to gain knowledge and to strengthen character. In order to achieve this, our teaching and learning are supported by our unique ‘Pillars of Learning’: Resilience; Innovation; Community Spirit; Environmental Awareness; and Enterprise. Implementing these pillars encourages our girls to develop the thoughts, values and behaviours that we promote at BHS. Our enriched curriculum is not confined to a classroom or restricted to school hours. Instead, we recognise that everything we do has the power to influence the kind of women that our girls will become.
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Our ‘Pillars of Learning’ support our aims, which are to equip our learners with the confidence needed to see opportunities not boundaries, challenges not obstacles and a belief in themselves that they have an important contribution to make to their School, to their community and beyond. These values are developed during lessons, assemblies and form time and, when the girls recently interviewed some of the United Nation’s most prominent women, they focused their questions on the ‘Pillars’ (see pages 6&7).
RESILIENCE: Girls who are resilient have the ability to bounce back; they recover from set-backs quickly and learn from their failures.
PILLARS OF LEARNING
“Failure is another stepping stone to greatness” Oprah Winfrey To help instil resilience, girls are encouraged to take risks through their learning and realise the importance of being able to bounce back from inevitable failure. Even our youngest pupils have a mantra ‘be brave and strong, when little things go wrong’ and, throughout their school life, our girls are taught to think outside of the box, try new things and face challenges that push them out of their comfort zones.
“ Our girls are resilient every day, whether they are in nursery or in Year 6. Girls who find something difficult are encouraged to strive to do their best. For example, if someone created a beautiful masterpiece, but it fell down, they would start again and create something even better.” Alisha 6LN
ENTERPRISE: Girls who are enterprising show initiative and resourcefulness; they can evaluate and take risks and make informed decisions. “True entrepreneurs never stop learning from their own successes and failures – and from one another.” Deborah Meaden Our enterprising curriculum provides opportunities for our girls to become creative problem-solvers, applying their academic knowledge to real-life situations. Even our younger pupils plan, organise and manage their own fundraising events, displaying an impressive wealth of ideas and creative skills as well as a huge amount of enthusiasm! Girls learn how to work using their own initiative, researching products and ideas, and evaluating risks.
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 3
PILLARS OF LEARNING
INNOVATION: Girls who are innovative think creatively to produce new and original ideas. They are creative, flexible thinkers and problem solvers. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you have, the more you use.” Maya Angelou We are committed to teaching our girls to be innovative and flexible thinkers. We were the first school in the GDST and the first secondary school in Greenwich to be awarded the prestigious ICT Mark which
recognises our success in embedding ICT throughout the curriculum. Girls have access to state of the art equipment, including digital radio stations, iPads and interactive language labs. This term our enterprising and innovative girls have used the Computer Aided Design software to design products which the 3D printer produced and which were then sold at the Easter Fair. “The girls at BHS show many examples of innovation every day at school e.g. Year 6 working with Senior girls during Architecture Day designing different, environmentally sustainable buildings for a new city. Nursery have recently been learning about fairytales and used iPads to create their own stories.” Trisha 6LN
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: Girls who have community spirit support their school and each other and are aware of the positive impact they can have through working together both in school and beyond. “I alone cannot change the world but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” Mother Theresa We want our girls to have knowledge of their community and their place within it. They are encouraged to respect the diversity of thoughts and opinions of people in the community, and to understand that they all have the power to impact their community in a positive way. We engage with the local community through activities such as the Senior Citizens’ Party and Community Service.
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ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE: Girls who are environmentally aware understand the ecological impact of altering the environment and know the impact their daily decisions have. “If you think you are too small to make an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito!” Anita Roddick We want our girls to have knowledge of the environmental issues facing our world today and how these will impact on the future. They are encouraged to demonstrate a commitment to live sustainably to protect the planet.
“ We are all community spirited. For example , some girls in Years 5 and 6 interviewed people from the United Nations for International Women’s Day. We donated a huge amount of food to local people during Harvest Festival and do lots of other things in the community throughout the year.” Lauren and Emma 6CB
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 5
UN RADIO PROJECT
International Women’s Day Our girls interview influential UN officials
W
e are enormously proud that, in March, our girls were involved in a very high profile radio project with the United Nations in support of International Women’s Day 2014 and its theme “Equality for women is progress for all.” At BHS, we believe that International Women’s Day is an important date on the calendar, recognising the vital contribution women make worldwide while highlighting the issues that still impact upon them in many parts of the world. The interviews by our girls, with some of the world’s most influential UN female officials, were distributed around the world and were featured on the ITV and Sky News bulletins. Covering a range of topics including conflict, famine and, of course, gender equality; the girls were wholly responsible for researching the biographies of the women and producing the interview questions. Seeking to inspire tomorrow’s
generation of women, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane; Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children; Judy Cheng Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women and Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet all agreed to be interviewed by our girls. Some of our French speaking pupils also interviewed Leila Zerrougi, Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral for Children and Armed Conflict, in French. We produced a special edition ‘HIGHlife’ newsletter covering the exciting event, copies of which can be downloaded from our website or requested from c.rafferty@bla.gdst.net As well as the audio recordings being available to access via our website, the full UN interviews are available to view at: http://www.un.org/en/events/ womensday/#IWD2014
Above: L-R Trisha Medimi, Elara Shurety and Daisy Dunford who interviewed Susana Malcorra
Elizabeth Isaac interviewed Judy Cheng Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support As young women in an increasingly global climate, we have to strive to stand out from the crowd to get on in the world stage and to thrive; much like the powerful women that we interviewed. It is always exciting and nerve-racking preparing and going for an interview, but nothing could quite fit the emotion one gets when meeting and talking to a person of such stature, and a person who really makes you think about how much you could learn from them. The whole process of research, composing interesting questions and then doing the interviews, was quite an experience! I was struck by Judy Cheng Hopkins’ frankness in her answers and the advice she gave. By the end of the interview, I found that I had even more respect for her and I learned more from her in those few minutes than I ever had from the books that you are meant to read to make you a well-rounded ‘good egg.’
Above: L-R Jahnavi Singh, Lauren Paku, Elizabeth Isaac, Lauren Paku
“This project has provided the most extraordinary opportunity for our girls to learn about and engage with powerful female role models. I am delighted that they have been able to hear from true world leaders that the qualities we aim to instil in our girls at Blackheath High are so important and relevant. I loved Judy Cheng Hopkins’ story of persuading a man to shake hands with her - resilience in action; she would not take “no” for an answer. Surprising insights were given in the interviews - not all had been “A” grade students - but these women had reached positions of immense authority through determination and hard work. A great message to our girls.” Mrs Skevington 6 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
“The UN Radio Project gave ou r students a fascinating in sight into the worlds of radio journalism and world politics. It was incredibly inspiring for ou r students to in teract directly with th e world’s leadin g women in polit ics.” Miss Johnson
Above: L-R Ella Jollands, Sam O’Sullivan, Kate O’Sullivan and Esther Akinyomi who interviewed Leila Zerrougi entirely in French
UN RADIO PROJECT Marta Santos Pais Yasmeen Copper, Y11, interviewed Marta Santos Pais, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children Our school teamed up with the United Nations for International Women’s Day to arrange interviews with these influential and inspirational women who have managed to achieve incredible things. Ms Pais gave us some examples of how we, as the next generation of strong women, could contribute to global issues, for example by engaging our school and knowledgeable people we know, in debates or discussions about global issues and to send this information to her via her website to try and get more young people involved. Furthermore, she told us about how young people like us inspire her and how she has been helped greatly by other young people globally, for example, to find out key trafficking sites so as to be able to combat this huge issue more effectively. Without this help, she says, the UN wouldn’t have this valuable knowledge. Overall the experience was extremely exciting and I found it incredibly rewarding: Ms Pais’ past in UNICEF only added to her impressiveness, but she seemed just as pleased to talk to us as we were to her! I think all of us have been influenced by this, and we’d all like to thank everyone who assisted with it.
Below: L-R Mia Dyson, Eve Giwa-Osagie, Tomris Yucemen and Julia Bosia who interviewed Lakshmi Puri
Above: L-R Suzanne Smith, Yasmeen Cooper, Victoria ModiCelda and Fleur Parry-Kilbey who interviewed Marta Santos Pais
Above and Right: Being interviewed by ITN journalist Ruth Banks Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 7
ICELAND TRIP
Incredible Iceland Trip Day 1: Arrival After an early start, arriving excitedly at the airport, unfortunately there was a long delay due to “4 tonnes of cod being unloaded from the plane’s luggage hold” which all sounded a bit fishy! On landing, we were greeted by a clear sky and snow-capped mountain ranges framing the dolls-house like town of Reykjavik. Once we arrived at the Perlan viewing platform, a stunning sunset grabbed our attention and we quickly hopped off to frantically take photos. We climbed the spiralling staircase, the cold air filling our lungs, and we all gasped at the amazing view that met our eyes. A group of 47 tired girls then headed back to settle in to the lovely hotel and enjoyed a fabulous meal sitting alongside our fabulous teachers! Rosie Hough Day 2: The Golden Circle We woke from our deep slumber by what we thought was an earthquake but, to our relief, it was only the teachers knocking on the door! We quickly changed into thermals and warm clothing, in preparation for the sub-zero temperatures outside. Our tour guide for the week, ‘Anna’ then took us to a geothermal power plant, where we spent the morning learning about this sustainable energy source. Afterwards we went to experience something we never hoped to experience in real life: An earthquake! We all had a go on the terrifying earthquake simulator, where squeals from teenage girls were projected from the small shaking box! Before stopping off for lunch we had a short trip to a lake in a volcanic crater at ‘Kerid’, where the cold air bit and the wind whipped our hair across our numb faces and we experienced one of Iceland’s most famous attractions: the mesmerising geysers. We also visited the ‘Gullfoss waterfall’, where the cascading water flowing over the pearly white ice took our breath away. Our final stop for the day was the ‘Thingvellir National Park’, where the sheltered valley meant that it wasn’t so bitterly cold. The scenery left us all speechless, and we enjoyed the peace and quiet before
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“It was an amazing trip ! Spectacular scen ery, friendly & helpful tour guide, jam-pac ked itinerary, and a wonderful grou p of staff and girl s with whom to explore Iceland. ” Miss Reed
boarding the coach for the last time that day to make our way to the farm hotel. Nikole La and Rosie Hough Day 2: Northern Lights Day 2 brought us a trip to a canyon and a rather large waterfall both of which were incredibly beautiful and breathtaking, despite the negative temperatures. We then travelled to the countryside, where there were planes of fertile land for miles. We stayed on a farm, which was a hotspot for viewing the ‘Northern Lights’ (Aurora Borealis), one of the magnificent wonders of the world and I waited, armed with my disposable camera and iPhone, just in case the Northern Lights suddenly appeared. After dinner (a traditional Icelandic fish pie), we were told that the lights were beginning to show. They didn’t disappoint; the lights were quite stunning; when they moved it was as though they were ‘dancing’ across the sky like little footsteps. Georgie Charleston
ICELAND TRIP
Day 3: The South Coast We woke up to the sound of horses neighing and ravens chirping at our rural retreat hotel. After breakfast, the farmer graciously showed us all the animals on the farm; including a dancing goat called Elvis (who you can watch on YouTube), a ‘talking’ raven, “Iceland’s ugliest dog” and, last but not least, a small white arctic fox feasting on a dead carcass! We then visited two waterfalls by coach. At the first, a cascading waterfall, we saw rainbows appearing in the spray of the water, showing beautiful jewel-like colours. At the second, we climbed the steps to reach the viewing platform, which was tiring but enabled many of the girls to overcome their fear of heights! Travelling on, we arrived at a glacier and mouths dropped at the huge natural miracle that appeared before us. We went on a short walk to get closer to the edge, which retreats a huge amount every year. Once we reached the edge, we saw the layers of ash from past volcanic eruptions and could tell just how much this wonderful glacier had retreated. We then drove down the dusty Icelandic roads to the coast to see some crashing waves. We saw amazing natural forms of arches, stacks and hexagonal basaltic columns. Luckily, we were able to see the spray of whales out at sea; it really was a great action-packed day. Nikole La and Rosie Hough
“We saw some awesome sights and had some great expe riences in Iceland. The girl s were so lucky to see the North ern Lights and it’s not every day yo u get to meet ‘Iceland’s ugliest dog’!” Mr Atkinson
Day 5: Blue Lagoon At the ‘Blue Lagoon’, the water was really warm, but the air was cold, (freezing). When we got into the reception, the keys were electronic and you scanned them to get into the changing areas and to open the lockers - really cool! The Blue Lagoon is a geothermally heated natural source mineral pool. The pool was so warm in some parts but freezing cold in other parts and it wasn’t like a pool with a tiled floor; it had natural rocks and the texture felt weird on your feet; very slimy! In the rocks is a natural silica face mud and it made my skin so soft. It was amazing fun and a relaxing experience; one I will never forget. Maddie Cossey
Day 4: Thorsmork On day 4 we took a trip to ‘Thorsmork’, travelling on 8x8 wheel trucks – real ‘monster trucks’! They looked like a lorry at the front, but on the back was a seating area which could fit around 30 people within its surroundings, protected by glass windows. The trucks had previously been used as NATO missile carriers. The trucks drove us across the glacier through frozen rivers and across rocks, stopping off to take in the spectacular views and to climb up a mountain, where at the top, we witnessed breathtaking views of the glacier and other mountains. Afterwards, our main guide, ‘Adda’ told us a story about finding aeroplane parts hidden in the glacier. Louise Wright
“I found Iceland to be completely magical, otherworldly and stunningly beautiful. I feel so lucky to have been able to be part of the trip and to top it off – to have seen The Northern Lights!! The girls were delightful to be with throughout the trip and everywhere we visited was met with enthusiasm and they grabbed every opportunity to maximise their experience in this most amazing country. ” Mrs Rose
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 9
SKI TRIP
Super Ski Trip in terrific Torgon O
n a miserable January morning, an enthusiastic group of almost 50 students from Year 5-8 plus teaching staff boarded the coach and set off for Gatwick to fly off to Torgon, Switzerland on our annual ski trip. Decked out in our BHS hoodies and beanies, we checked in and were soon on our plane to Genève. On arrival, we were met by our travel reps and were soon on our way to the ‘Gold Test Centre’. Despite the early start, the girls still had plenty of energy after dinner for the all-important ‘ski fit’ and soon they were grappling with their new kit in the store room. After a good night’s sleep, it was straight onto the slopes to meet our instructors for the week. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces in our usual group of ski
instructors and the girls were eager to get started. Soon the intermediate groups were re-familiarising themselves with the button lift, the advanced groups were refreshing their turns and the beginners were learning to stay upright (and that included the staff!). As has become traditional over the last few years, we have a ‘team and point system’, competing for points awarded for a wide range of achievements on and off the slopes. All students were involved throughout the week, from the ‘5 Franc Challenge’, ‘Climbing Wall Expertise’, ‘Tidy Room Award’ and ‘Finesse displayed at the Roller Disco’, and the points soon started to mount up. Meanwhile, their skill and confidence in skiing grew, with the advance groups making it across the border into France by Wednesday, which became the goal for all
the other groups to achieve. As the week drew to an end, everyone had improved their skiing skills, and also made some great new friends from across the year groups. Miss Holland, Director of Sport
“The ski trip was an amazing experience; it was fantastic to see the girls thrive in a new environment. The resort is perfect and everything was organised so that the girls got the most out of their week” Mrs Hallett 10 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
SKI TRIP
“I thoroughly enjoyed the ski trip this year. The weather was great and although the snow started to disappear we still had plenty of slopes to keep us skiing! The girls were fantastic and worked brilliantly in their teams.� Miss Roberts
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 11
HIGHER EDUCATION AND CAREERS
Reality bites! How we are preparing our girls for university and beyond
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t Blackheath High School we want all of our girls to achieve their very best and to be happy and successful at university and in their subsequent careers; and so we give them advice and equip them with the skills they need to make an excellent, wellinformed start to their adult lives.
Whether it’s Higher Education (HE)… We help them to: • Develop the knowledge and skills needed to make appropriate university choices • Plug into advice from outside school, including our own alumnae and the GDST Alumnae Network. For example: • In Y7, girls are introduced to the HE and Careers Library and resources including useful websites. • We hold a ‘Careers’ Day’ for Y9 girls and also talk to Y11 girls about HE pathways. • Our Y10 girls undergo The Cambridge Occupational Analysts (COA) Preview Test and take a tour of a university. • Y11 girls study post-16 choices and have individual HE/Careers interviews. • In Y12, students ‘shadow’ a university student for the day and take part in a ‘UCAS Day’ (The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) • We have an ‘Oxbridge and Russell Group Preparation Club’ for girls in Sixth Form and girls are given the opportunity to attend University Open/Taster Days. • In Y13, support with UCAS applications continues and mock university interviews are held. • Alumnae give careers advice and tell girls what a particular course/university is really like.
... or careers… We help them by: • Giving face-to-face and up-to-date careers advice from Year 7 • Identifying and developing their areas of strength and weakness • Developing ‘soft skills’ • Familiarising them with the world of work e.g. Y9 ‘Take Your Daughter to Work Day’, Y11 work experience
... or both... We help them to obtain comprehensive, up-to-date and unbiased information, and to make choices that are right for them, so they develop into confident, composed and committed professional women. 12 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
“The Year 9 Careers Day gave us the chance to think more about our future and possible options. We used on-line software called ‘Fast Tomato’, and answered a questionnaire on our interests. This then selected jobs that were best suited to our personality and hobbies, which was really useful as it gave us an insight into jobs we might have never considered before, such as a ‘drama therapist’ or ‘engineer.’ The jobs were described on the website, with a salary and qualifications required. It helped us outline the options we might choose for GCSE, and pathways we may consider for the future.” Rosie McMorrow Year 9
HIGHER EDUCATION AND CAREERS
Work Experience Abroad in Germany
Y11 Mock Interview Day
By Helena Holder – Kindergarten Assistant As part of being awarded the ‘Modern Languages Scholarship’, I was granted a week away with an organisation named ‘Halsbury’, which offers students the chance to spend a week working at a placement in a foreign country. I completed German GCSE last summer and am now studying for my German AS level and I jumped at this opportunity. My work experience was in the St Gregorius Katholische Kindergarten in Aachen, Germany. On arrival in Aachen, we were sent out to find our placements with only a basic town map at our disposal, and my DofE map reading skills proved beneficial in locating where I was to spend the week! Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and in the mornings I sat in on an informal meeting, all the while improving my listening skills. The rest of the day was spent with the children, aged 3-5, playing games, doing jigsaws, reading books, and helping out at meal times, break times and at nap time. Questions from the children encouraged me to use all the German I know! We went out on activities, including bowling and ice skating, as well as eating out at restaurants and shopping, including the ‘Eis-Café’, which serves huge waffles with lashings of cream and chocolate sauce! I found this experience to be absolutely invaluable, and I can most definitely say that my speaking and oral skills have improved significantly.
In the Spring Term, Year 11 girls are given the opportunity to attend a workshop on Interview and presentation skills followed by writing CVs in response to mock advertisements for different jobs. Some girls wrote letters of application, others filmed themselves role playing and those applying for Medicine and Dentistry prepared answers for interview questions. We were fortunate to have employers representing many diverse careers, including: Art and Design, PR, Event Management and Marketing, Acting, Health, Finance, Teaching, Law and Media. We were delighted that two of them were former pupils of Blackheath High School; Ellen Beer and Aliyah Plummer. Medicine “The questions she asked me were very tough but it gave me an insight into the sort of questions that I could be asked in the future. We discussed different sectors of health which was very interesting. She also discussed her own career and the benefits and disadvantages of her job.” Kimberly Murawha Teaching “I found the mock interview day extremely helpful. It made me realise that I definitely want to be a Primary School Teacher as the interviewer gave me a real insight into what it might be like”. Bethany Branigan Engineering “The interview gave me a clearer view of what to expect in an actual interview without the pressures. My interviewer was really nice and gave good feedback to me which I can use to improve my interview skills. The interview revealed things to me which I hadn’t really thought about e.g. my personal skills and attributes.” Aakifah Mirza PR/Event Management and Marketing “I thought the day was really useful and really helped me as it gave me a good taste of what a job interview was going to be like especially having to produce a short article about myself and present it in the interview.” Alexandra Brilliant
By Annabel Sim – Art Gallery Assistant As an AS German student, I was very keen to go to Germany for a week’s work experience. I chose ‘Art and History’ as my area of interest, and was assigned a placement at the NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, a contemporary art association in Aachen. During the week I was set a variety of tasks in the gallery such as translating pieces for their website, writing emails and letters in German, telephoning German companies, writing up transcripts of interviews with artists, as well as helping with photographing the exhibits. During the week I became really good friends with some of the people at my placement, and ended up having long discussions with them - something I thought I’d never be doing in German! The trip was an incredibly worthwhile and unforgettable experience, which I feel has greatly improved my German, my confidence, and my independence.
Y11 Mock Interview Day
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DRAMA
Amazing Annie
Being Annie by Megan Twist Y9 Performing in Annie really was the highlight of the three years that I’ve been at Blackheath High. After being told at the end of last year that we were going to be staging Annie I was so excited! I rushed to sign my name up and, after two terrifying auditions, I was informed that I had gained the lead role – at this point I almost collapsed! Doing the show at a public theatre made the experience even more exciting because we felt as though we were part of a professional theatre company. We even had dressing rooms and stage makeup! It was an amazing experience and it really made me more confident in myself. Being on that stage really was the best moment of my life and I can’t thank Miss Tyrell enough for making it happen.
I loved performing in Annie! by Poppy Cracknell Y10 I especially enjoyed the great experience of playing the infamous ‘Miss Hannigan’. The character was really fun to play and presented me with new acting and singing challenges, which will also help me with my GCSE drama work. My character also had many interactions with a variety of different people, including my own little sister and, as a result, I was presented with opportunities for new friendships with some great (and hilarious) people. Let’s face it, when you are stuck with these “orphans” for two hours after school every Friday, it would be hard if you didn’t get along! Putting together a play is a great environment to work in; everybody was there because they wanted to be and worked really hard for their part, so I knew that it was going to be a brilliant production and I think it was. Concentration may have started to slip a little about half an hour from the end of rehearsals because of fatigue, or when a song (“NYC”) had to be sung four or five times in a row to ensure that it was perfect, but it was definitely worth it when we came to perform at Greenwich Theatre.
“We turned the theatre from an orphanage into the Warbuck’s mansion as we followed Annie’s amazing rags to riches story. It was a triumphant night out, which both the audience and participating girls enjoyed thoroughly.” Mrs Tyrrell, Head of Drama 14 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
DRAMA
Junior Drama
Super “Cinderella & Rockerfella”
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n 1st April 2014, Year 3 and 4 were stars when they performed in ‘Cinderella and Rockerfella’. They were FABULOUS! The main characters were outstanding; delivering their many lines so clearly and singing their solos so beautifully. Several had to play the part of three or four different characters and did so with such ease. There were wonderful group dances and songs where the girls really shone on stage and some unforgettable one-liners that the girls acted so comically. Finally, Year 3 were sensational, singing and dancing with such energy. They really added to the wonderful sound and look of the performance. Everyone played their parts brilliantly with such enthusiasm and confidence. It was a great evening with superb singing, dancing, acting and lots of terrible jokes! Thank you to the parents for providing the girls with such wonderful costumes - they really looked fantastic. Everyone worked so hard to ensure the performance was a success and it absolutely was! Well done to all the girls and thank you for all your hard work. Remember me when you’re famous! Mrs McKenna
“We very proudly presented our production ‘Cinderella & Rockerfella’ to a sea of expectant parents. Backstage everybody looked amazing in their costumes and makeup, and we were all super excited to perform the songs we’d learned so well. The audience loved the ugly sisters, the ‘Off Stage Inspector’ and ‘Fairy Nastyboots’, but everybody played their parts equally well. It was a huge success!” Sienna Miles-Garrigues
“I think “Cinderella and Rockerfella” was a great play to perform and rehearse. My favourite song and dance was “There’s a Party Here Tonight” because the dance was fun to learn and the song is so energetic. I loved it when the warm-up people (Leila and Alisha) started off the play with their cheesy (but funny) jokes. I loved my part as a ‘bear’ and I wish we could do the play again and again!” Kate Claessens, 4BM Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 15
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Round up of the Term’s sporting activities, events and achievements Senior School Sports
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he Spring Term was again tremendously busy for the Senior School PE department. We fielded a range of teams over a variety of events. Our U12 & U13 Netball squads competed in the Kent tournaments, playing against the best from other schools. Both squads worked really hard together to achieve some very pleasing results; with our U13 team coming second to the eventual winners of the tournament. Our BHS Hockey Academy has continued to flourish under Kent Development Hockey specialist, Richard Young. The renovation works to the astroturf resulted in a smooth and fast playing surface on which our girls developed their skills with some fantastic results in inter-school competitions, despite the very wet weather. One of the term’s main
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successes was taking part in the Greenwich and Lewisham Cross Country League. It is designed to prime the students for the bigger event: the ‘London Schools Cross Country’. In the third and final run at Eltham College it was a nervous wait to hear the results, but our U13 Cross Country Squad was awarded first place, out running all our local rivals; what a great result. The team were proudly awarded the first place team shield by Frank Ticker, English National Cross Country Champion. Alongside the success of the team, we had several individuals consistently appearing in the top ten list on points awarded: Ada Phu, Annika Chai, and Grace Miller; with Lara Atkinson coming 2nd overall! This achievement shows an excellent overall improvement in the students’ fitness across the board.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Junior School Sports
D
uring the busy Spring Term Year 5 and 6s’ sporting activities changed from netball to hockey and the fixtures continued to be varied and exciting. Year 6 played their required league matches and although hampered slightly by the weather, they managed to win all but two throughout the season, positioning them in a very respectable 3rd place out of the ten schools in the league. The Year 6A Netball Team travelled to Northampton for the GDST Netball Tournament, playing 23 other Trust schools and showing great resilience playing on through snow and hail and only just missing out on a place in the final. Year 3 had their first Netball tournament and played 8
matches in one afternoon, showing lots of potential for the future. Year 5 had a fantastic afternoon at the annual Hockey fun, skills and tournament session at Bromley Hockey Club; the girls got to meet lots of other pupils from different schools and the afternoon finished with a ‘round robin’ tournament. Across the school, Year 6 and 7 joined together to compete in the Inter-house Cross Country held at the sports field. Meridian House was crowned overall winners and we also saw lots of new individual ‘personal bests.’ Finally, the Year 6 A and B netball teams played in The End of Season Netball Tournament and finished 2nd overall on points, a fantastic way to end the spring term.
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 17
MUSIC
Senior School
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he Spring Term was another hectic term in the Music Department and audiences were kept entertained with a diverse mix of musical activity. The term began with a GCSE Music trip to the Institute of Education where an audience of 500 Year 10 pupils eagerly took notes during a series of engaging lectures by EDEXCEL Examiners. A week later, our A2 Music group made the same trip and had an exciting day being taken through the different elements of the A Level Music paper. The Tea Time Concert proved to be one of the most exciting yet. We were treated to many solo and small ensemble items, with Sally Lardner performing one of her own compositions and the Year 7 Taster Flutes showing us the fantastic progress they had made in just one term.
A week later, Pippa Jackson (bottom left) travelled to Birkenhead Academy for the first ever GDST ‘Young Musician of the Year Competition’. She performed beautifully in the solo category and took part in the world premiere of the newly commissioned piece, ‘Arithmos Isakis Isos’ - a saying of Pythagoras’s - ‘Justice is a number squared’ - composed by Emily Howard, an alumni of the GDST. After a busy first half of term, the Spring Concert in the Theatre soon followed. The theme was ‘Stage and Screen’ and all the Choirs and Ensembles performed a wide range of music. The concert started with the orchestra playing ‘ Pirates of the Caribbean’ which clearly set the scene for the next hour. The Chamber Choir in particular was very impressive, singing a 15-minute medley from ‘Les Miserable’ – all from memory. The various Percussion Ensembles performed with gusto and
there was a huge array of cutlery, bins and buckets on stage for their ‘Tribute to Stomp’ piece. Year 7 Choir finished off the concert with the crowd pleaser ‘You Raise Me Up’ directed by Mrs Coles.
Junior School
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s ever, once Christmas is over, music teachers often breathe a sigh of relief thinking ‘that is it’ for a little while. Not at BHJS! We were straight into preparing for another busy term of musical performances! We enjoyed a lovely concert given by Year 2 who have been learning a stringed instrument since November – both the girls and their audience very much enjoyed their performance. Year 5 and 6 delighted and entertained with their sparkling Tea Time Concert following half term, all singing songs from 18 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
Tim Minchin’s ‘Matilda’, impressively tackling challenging harmonies with great energy. Chamber Choir also rose beautifully to the occasion, singing a
beautiful setting of ‘My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose’ by Burns and ‘Like a Singing Bird’ by Rosetti, set to music in three parts by Bob Chilcott. Over
MUSIC
Less than a week later, we were at Greenwich Theatre for the ‘Annie’ production. The Music Department had been heavily involved in all the rehearsals and a newly formed band was put together with Maddie Halil (percussion), Helena Holder (Flute) and Phoebe Chard (violin) playing alongside Mrs Gunton, Mrs Ridgeway and Mr Grubb. The whole cast had worked hard, learning so many songs but Megan Twist stole the show with her performance of Annie! The final concert of the term was given by Ellie Delieu-Quinn (Year 12). Ellie organised the concert as part of her Year 12 assessment and we were treated to a truly spectacular concert with Kathryn Doran and the newly formed ‘Ellie’s Choir’ making their first appearance.
25 soloists from both year groups took to the stage, with every one playing or singing with confidence and poise. Chamber Choir repeated this performance during our ISI inspection – the lead inspector seemed suitably impressed and left with a great smile! A few days later, Year 5 had a wonderful time becoming orphans in the Senior School production of ‘Annie,’ singing ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’. It’s fairly safe to say that the girls loved the experience! They were appropriately messy, in scruffy costume and daubed with make up and they sang their hearts out. Orphans with attitude! We eagerly await the next invitation to join the senior cast in 2015. To finish the term, Year 3 and 4
formed a stunning cast for a memorable evening of ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’. I was very grateful to the senior girls who
also played in the band that evening and look forward to many more collaborative music concerts soon. Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 19
FASHION SHOW SIXTH FORM
A show of talent
T
his year’s Sixth Form Winter Fashion Show was a great evening of visual and other entertainments. The sixth formers really surpassed themselves this year. The whole event was managed capably and adventurously by Prefects Lucy Morris –Thomas and Bobbie Gillespie. The overall theme was ‘Trends’ and the textiles interpretations in each Catwalk range encompassed genres of Punk, Cyberwear, Camouflage, 90’s Rave, New Romantic, Goth and many more. Each individually conceived, designed and handmade garment and accessory made up part of a dynamically choreographed concept. Each dramatic Catwalk was designed mostly by Sixth Form artists and was formed of a team of models who worked together for months creating their garments and perfecting their performances. This year, there was also a range imagined and realised by a Y8 team. Twenty Y11 girls modelled their own garments in one single walk that was a riot of motion and colour. Some other highlights were Imren Remzi’s ‘disappearing model’ whose garment blended into a specially made screen, and Kathryn Doran’s Fine-art ‘Zombiewalk’! The separate ranges were extremely
20 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
varied, excitingly presented and seamlessly walked. Our girls took full artistic control of every aspect of the show including imagery, props, purpose made films and carefully chosen music, making for an interesting, fast moving, rollercoaster of well-directed talents. The Catwalks were interspersed with beautiful and complementary dance, song, and piano performances and a dazzling and thrilling evening was had by all. Mr Whitfield, Head of Art
FASHION SIXTH SHOW FORM Behind the Scenes by Lucy Morris-Thomas We started organising The Fashion Show as soon as we could. We began by thinking of a collection of inspiring themes suitable for the event and wide enough for everyone to come up with different ideas. In the end, these ideas ranged from the months of the year to a range of artist movements and cultural styles. After coming up with eight different ideas we agreed on the theme of ‘Trends’. Fashion Club began in October and the sessions gave the girls the chance to share their ideas, designs, music and also provided the opportunity to start making the garments using the department’s sewing machines and other facilities. Bobbie and I began our model auditions and carefully allocated each model to a catwalk. December quickly crept up and the pressure was building, and we had to provide the girls with deadlines for garments as well as the creation of backing films and music. Throughout January we held regular after school rehearsals and saw the catwalks completed two weeks before the show. We managed to correct and modify each walk until they were perfect for the final show on 12th February. Phew!
More than ‘Alright on the Night’ by Bobby Gillespie Everyone involved in the show was energised, poised in their walks and more confident than ever. The show would not have been possible without the hard work from the designers, models, performers, presenters and the technical crew who I was very grateful to have working with us this year. When the show began, Lucy and I were full of adrenaline and wanted the show to be absolutely perfect. The performers did an amazing job with entertaining the audience from singing to playing the piano. Lucy and I wanted to liven the night up even more with an energetic and extravagant Bollywood dance performance, which comprised bright colours, smoke machines and beautiful outfits. The part of the night I enjoyed the most was seeing the look on parents and friends faces after the show, filled with pride in the designer or performer they had come to support. Afterwards, everyone involved in the show and everyone who turned up to support them joined us in the dining hall for a celebration and to relax from the intense rehearsals and slight nervousness before the show. It was also sad to say a temporary goodbye to a member of our Art Department, Ms. Luddy, who had spent a lot of time helping with the show and making sure everything was up to scratch. We wish her the best of luck on her maternity leave and we look forward to her returning soon!
“The year’s Winter Fashion Show was a huge success. Lucy and Bobbie (right) choreographed the evening with panache. The catwalks contained impressive designs created by students in Y8 up to Y13. Spellbinding musical performances included Kerenza Qayum on piano, solo singing from Alex Brilliant, Ellie Delieu-Quinn and Sally Lardner, a fusion of Western and Indian dance from Deepanshi Gulati and Purva Sawhney and an acoustic performance from harmonic duo Courtney Williams and Pria Duncan-Benington.” Miss Johnson, Deputy Head of Sixth Form
Spring Spring2014 2014 Blackheath High School 21
PAINTING & POETRY WORKSHOP
Paintetry and Poeting:
A moment in the day - Ian Whitfield:
The Senior School Art and English Departments’ Painting and Poetry workshop of artists work Do different sorts
“...Phil Bowen is giving a reading from a poem called 'why I am not a painter' and a group of girls are listening for key words and noting them down in new arrangements, while Anthony Frost has switched the music from a blast of 'happy hardcore' to the melancholic vocals of 'Beirut'. He is striding between the easels, exclaiming and gesturing and discussing the 'push and pull' of colour and texture. Miss Waygood is testing with Mia Ryder how a lemon yellow scythe shape responds to a diagonal slick of ultramarine, and I discuss with Annabel Sim how to encourage the phrase 'broken void' to make friends with an orange spotted bowtie like shape.”
in similar ways?
rt and visual A ry ra te li re a s In what way uivalent? processes eq te and crea hink artists t l a u is V Can way? d textual n a ic t e o in a p
se re compo f Literatu o ts n e d r? rs and stu and matte Can write of colour s m r te k in their wor ing
tive think lising all crea a su vi f o s way thing? Can we find on the same s ve ti ec sp rent per just as diffe
ps
e overla ding of thes n ta rs e d n u Does an e? ative practic facilitate cre
The Art student - Emily Dennis: “The painter gave a very interesting talk and showed his eccentric personality! He explained how to create a collage about colour relationships and texture, while also acting up a very comedic double act with his friend the poet. A very interesting comparison between poetry and art was made and the poet read out several thrilling poems and talked about how poetry was not dull and boring but really a ‘dark art’.”
Organising an absolutely ekphrastic day! This colourful block of ideas was what Miss Waygood and I had in our minds for a workshop about the fruitful conjunction of Poetry and Painting. We really wanted to put the creative aspect of both English and Art into a wider context, to help to convey to AS students a higher level of ideas and contextual understanding . The resulting collaborative Artist in Residence Day was designed to illuminate the crossover between Painting and Poetry. World famous painter Anthony Frost and published poet Phil Bowen visited the Art studios for the day and led our AS Art and English students through an exciting process of Painting, with reference to Poetry and Poetry referencing Painting. All girls made an A1 abstract painting and composed a set of poetic phrases which were merged together into a collection of stunning artworks through the course of the day. Ian Whitfield, Head of Art 22 Blackheath High School Spring 2014
The Art and Literature student - Annabel Sim: “The ‘Poetry meets Art’ day gave me a chance to develop a more creative approach to English, by writing my own poem, whilst enabling me to be more thoughtful in my approach to Art. The most interesting part of the day for me, was deciding how to integrate my poem into my collage, as it was intriguing to see how the composition could have such an effect on the connotations of the poem.”
The Literature student - Elara Shurety: “Firstly we listened to Phil read poems while we wrote down words that appealed to us. We used these to create the first line of a new poem, which we expanded and incorporated into our paintings. In the poetry part of the workshop we read ‘The Applicant’ by Sylvia Plath and ‘Stealing’ by Carol Ann Duffy as a group, and discussed the techniques used in them, as well as the impact these techniques have on the poem and reader.”
JUNIOR ART
Junior Art
I
t has been a busy term for Art in the Junior School. In February we launched our first Junior School art competition, 'the Really Looking Art Competition', to encourage the girls to complete a still life composition. We received over a hundred pieces, which made the judging very hard. Entries were exhibited in the hall and many have been set aside to display around the school. We're all very excited that our art room has been revamped! When it is finished in the summer term, it will be a stimulating environment in which to create some great pieces of art. The new term brings our annual Art Exhibition. Each year group are focusing on one artist and studying their work in depth. The exhibition, to be held at the end of May, is entitled 'Through the Eyes of Artists .' And finally...Y4 have been working on their pieces for the Eltham Palace Exhibition in April. Alex Smith, Junior Art Co-ordinator
Spring 2014 Blackheath High School 23
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Forthcoming Events JUNE TUESDAY 3RD JUNE Junior Sports Day, Sports Field FRIDAY 6TH JUNE EYFS Sports Morning, Sports Field TUESDAY 17TH JUNE Year 5/6 Production, ‘Ye-Ha!’ THURSDAY 19TH JUNE Year 4 Summer Sports Festival TUESDAY 24TH JUNE Senior School Sports Day W/C 30TH JUNE Week of Associated Board Music Examinations (Seniors) JULY THURSDAY 3RD JULY OGA Pimms Party
MONDAY 7TH JULY Year 6 Prize Giving, Junior School TUESDAY 8TH JULY Year 7 & 8 Prize Giving, 2.00pm, Senior School WEDNESDAY 9TH JULY Summer Concert, 4.30pm & 6.30pm Chapel, Old Royal Naval College
FRIDAY 4TH JULY Year 6 Party, Junior School
AUGUST THURSDAY 14TH AUGUST AS/A2 Examination Results
FRIDAY 5TH JULY BHSA Camp Night
THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST GCSE Examination Results TUESDAY 26TH AUGUST FRIDAY 29TH AUGUST New Year 7 Summer School
Blackheath High School has a thriving Old Girls’ Association, which prides itself on helping former pupils and staff keep in touch, as well as actively supporting the school by sponsoring prizes, supporting careers events and financially contributing toward school activities.
Pimms Party To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Senior School moving from Wemyss Road to Vanbrugh Park, the BHSOGA are excited to announce that they will be hosting a ‘Pimms Party’ at the Senior School, in conjunction with the school, on Thursday 3rd July 2014. This follows on from an excellent event two years ago, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Many commented that it was lovely to see so many old faces and have a chance to look around the school. Website The BHSOGA website is also now up and running and is regularly updated with news and events (www. bhsoga.org.uk). The password-protected part of the site provides a forum for members to share memories, photos and information about past and future events which we hope will continue to grow with the association. The site also has information about joining the BHSOGA and how to contact the organisation for more information. We always welcome new members, so please don’t hesitate to sign up at www.bhsoga.org.uk and you can also find us on Facebook: Blackheath High School Old Girls’ Association